Vermont has won money to hire up to 25 recent college graduates for a new AmeriCorps program dedicated to cleaning state waterways.

Gov. Peter Shumlin announced the grant of nearly $378,000 at a news conference Wednesday with Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger.

“Under this program called Environmental Careers and Opportunities AmeriCorps, the members will be placed in the municipalities, water conservation organizations and other groups to help with the actual planning and execution that’s going to lead to cleaner water as quickly as we can get there,” Shumlin said.

Weinberger pointed to a Callahan Park rain garden near the news conference as an example of green infrastructure that slows down storm runoff and prevents lake pollution.

“We think this grant that we’re happy to be a part of will help us identify more of these areas,” Weinberger said, “and help us figure out the solutions that need to be done on a really small-scale basis in different parts of the city.”

This year’s grants will raise the number of Vermont AmeriCorps members from 109 to nearly 200, said Philip Kolling, executive director of SerVermont.

Exact locations and water-quality responsibilities for the AmeriCorps members have yet to be determined.

Last week Shumlin signed major water quality legislation that will dedicate about $7.5 million in taxpayer money, plus federal and private funds, to stop the flow of pollutants into Lake Champlain and other state waterways. Shumlin calls the law “the most aggressive effort ever to ensure that we clean up Vermont’s waterways.”

In addition to the new law, Vermont’s new capital budget will also fund some water quality projects.

The state environmental AmeriCorps program is open for applications at ecoamericorps.vermont.gov. The first wave of service terms begins in September.

Other AmeriCorps grant recipients this year include the We All Belong diversity program in Burlington, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board and the Washington County Youth Services Bureau and Boys and Girls Club.

Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank